NOPD Consent Decree

Background

In May 2010, at the invitation of Mayor Mitchell J. Landrieu, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) began investigating an alleged pattern of civil rights violations and other misconduct by the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD). On March 16, 2011, the DOJ issued a written report alleging unconstitutional conduct by the NOPD and describing the DOJ’s concerns about various NOPD policies and procedures.

On July 24, 2012, the City, the NOPD and the DOJ entered into a Consent Decree, which was the nation’s most expansive Consent Decree. The Consent Decree contains a broad array of separate tasks and goals detailed in more than 490 paragraphs and 110 pages; it reflects a shared commitment to effective, constitutional, and professional law enforcement. The Court approved the Consent Decree on January 11, 2013.

The Consent Decree is a broad, extensive blueprint for positive change, and it encompasses sweeping, department-wide reforms that understandably may require years to accomplish fully.

Within the NOPD, the Compliance Bureau is tasked with, among other things, facilitating the implementation of the Consent Decree.

New Orleans Police Department Biannual Report

The Biannual Report of the New Orleans Police Department delineates the many steps taken by NOPD since the entry of the Consent Decree as well as an assessment of progress to-date. In addition, the Biannual Report delineates plans to correct any issue and respond to any concerns raised by the Consent Decree Monitor.

Consent Decree Monitor

On August 9, 2013, the law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, LLP was appointed, by order of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, to establish the Office of the Consent Decree Monitor.

The role of the Consent Decree Monitor is to "assess and report whether the requirements of the Consent Decree have been implemented, and whether this implementation is resulting in the constitutional and professional treatment of individuals by NOPD."